Camallanus Worms (Warning: Somewhat Graphic Pics)

[Sakura8]

It seems my boy Anderson may have these camallanus worms. At first I thought it was a bacterial infection because he has begun slight pineconing, and so he is in 3 tsps of epsom salt and Maracyn II. But when I went to do my final check on him for the night, I noticed that his, er, vent had red threads sticking from it. After a few moments observation, I noticed the threads were moving. o.O My poor Anderson. When I touched his back, the threads retreated but I was able to get a few pics of his, uhm, butt.

But what is the best way to treat these worms? General Cure? Or something else? And will it shock him too much to go from Maracyn II to something else? Advice would be much appreciated.

Tank size: 1g hospital tank
Heated to 79 degrees

He was previously housed in my community tank with 10 neons, 8 rummynoses, 1 platy, 6 cories, and 2 otos, as well as numerous Malaysian Trumpet Snails. I have lost 2 cories and 1 platy in the last 2 weeks although I am not sure if their deaths are related to Anderson's worm trouble. No new fish have been added for at least a month so I am at a loss how he contracted these nasty things.

Pics (Warning: because they are of a fish's butt, they are a bit graphic)
The circled area shows the worms

[earthworm88]

Hi Sakura,
So sorry to hear your aquarium has got Camallanus. I have read somewhere that bettas are the first to show signs of these worms. So I would definitely keep an eye on the big tank, or you may want to consider treating the whole thing. As it is highly contagious, make sure you are really cautious in handling everything.

So far, the reports have shown that Fenbendazole being the most effective in eradicating these suckers (no pun intended). The brand names in the US are Panacur and Safe-guard. They are both the same thing (22% fenbendazole) but only Panacur requires a prescription from a vet. SafeGuard you can probably find at Petsmart.

I guess it depends on what strain of Camallanus you have, some will react to Jungle anti parasitic treatments while others could be tenacious and require stronger treatment.

I have also found Flubendazole being another. Flubenol 15 is the trade name. Here is the link to the water soluble type for the aquarium. http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.u...il51_62110.php


Good luck! Hope none of them are greatly affected and will recover quickly. Keep us posted.

Cheers!

[Sakura8]

Ah, thank you, earthworm. :) You're awesome. I'll head out and look for Safe-Guard to start with while I look for a vet that has Panacur. While my big community tank seems okay for the moment, one more betta who has been "off" for the last few days has now shown definitive signs of having camallanus. He was in a divided tank so I'm thinking I may treat his tankmates as a precaution. One looks all right but the other is starting to show signs of a greying belly. I should probably also tear down the tank and sterilize it, too.

Thanks again, earthworm. I appreciate your help. :) *hugs*

[earthworm88]

Hey Sakura,

Not sure how much I can help since I have no personal experience with this. But I had read a bit since the last time one of the members had hers dropping like flies, and I suspected it could be due to Camallanus. I have copied and pasted some literature and links for your reference. Sorry they seem to be in bits and pieces. I had copied down all the pertinent info last time, but I can't seem to find my doc at this time.

"Fenbendazole and Flubendazole are very different in activity and solubility. Fenbendazole must be eaten and metabolized to make it work. Flubendazole has 3 times greater solubility. It is active absorbed through the skin and gills. It does not have to be eaten. It is easier to dose because one does not need to know how much has been eaten. One makes a concentrated solution in aquarium water and the dosing is done."

Supposedly Fenbendazole tastes like crap. Since it has to be ingested, may need to mix it with garlic juice/garlic guard and others to soak the pellets in to enhance the taste a bit.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fi...worming-2.html

[Sena Hansler]

I do not have any info on what earthworm said, but, as for being careful what you use with your fish, you can clean everything down with hot water and vinegar - this is a gentler solution than hot water and bleach. I used that for my siphone tube, spoons, mixing buckets, etc. This'll ensure that it does not travel to anyone else. Best way, is directly after using it clean it with hot water and vinegar, then rinse. :)

good luck!!

[Sakura8]

Earthworm, thank you so much! I think I remember the case you are referring to; I'm not sure we ever did find out what happened to those fish. Right now, I have no transportation so I'm in wait mode. If my local Petsmart doesn't have Safeguard, I'll check with my veterinarian about Panacur.

Sena: Thank you! I was wondering how I was going to clean everything. Fortunately, the divided tank isn't really planted, just some gravel and a few bits of anachris stuck here and there. Should be easy to tear it down and give it a good scrub.

[Sena Hansler]

That's good!! Any live plants, remove from the tank and quarantine... I think people have used tap water to do this - better than hot water :p

Rinse the gravel a lot... ornaments, fake plants, the whole works. Even clean the filter while you're at it... This'll definitely lower the chance of that little nuisance from being in there! That's all I can think of, cleaning/quarantine wise...

[Sakura8]

Thanks, Sena. I think I may just toss the gravel altogether. I've got a bucketful of the stuff. Question, though. I have an anubias attached to a lava rock. Should I rinse the lava rock (and any anubias roots/rhizomes) in tap water too? Will it hurt the anubias?

[Sakura8]

So after calling some local pet stores and doing a bit of research, it looks like what I need is actually a dog/cat dewormer called Safeguard?

According to an old post on tfk, this is what I do:
"I dissolved 1/8 teaspoon Fenbendazole in Garlic Guard, Entice and Vita-Chem (fen. is nasty tasting, gotta add flavor enticers to convince your fish to eat it). Then I added 2 cubes of beefheart. I added a teaspoon of Focus (by Seachem) which binds the medication to the food. Then I let it all soak in for an hour or so. I fed the food and within the hour my Bolivian Ram (the only one displaying worms protruding from his vent) passed a dead worm. I fed the food for three days to be safe, and fed the same recipe again a week later."

I don't have Focus but I have Garlic Guard and Vita-Chem so I think what I'll do is get some from my vet and mix 1/8 tsp with the aforementioned products and a cube or two of bloodworms, since I don't think you're supposed to feed beefheart to bettas. I hope this works because from all accounts, levamisole (my other option) is hard to find.

Wish my fishies luck. :)

[earthworm88]

Yes! Sorry I did not tell you SafeGuard is a dewormer for canines. Ideally Flubenol 15 is manufactured for aquarium use for its water solubility, but I think you can only find that in UK.

I agree, I would have used bloodworm too. Pellets will also be able to soak up the tx solution as well. Don't forget Camallanus has 30 days life cycle, as Sena suggested, disinfect everything thoroughly. I have read bleach is ok, but must be diluted and let sit. The key word is rinse....lots of rinsing, letting it sun dry and rinsing again. Just do what you think is easiest for you.

This info will be helpful for dosage:
"This wormer is Fenbendazole.
So, he contacted an aquatic biologist friend, and they worked out a dosage.
Dissolve 3CC of powdered Fenbendazole in 100ml of water.
Mix well, then add as many bloodworms as you need to feed your fish. Soak for 30 mins to 1 hour, then dump the entire container in the tank, water and all.
So, for 14.35 in cost, I picked up my Fenbendazole in powder/crushed form.
The brand name it goes under is Panacur.
I brought it home, and prepared the first dose.
It seemed to really soak into the bloodworms, changing them to a slightly lighter and grayish color tone.
I fed the fish 2x A Day for 2 days.
I watched the affected fish carefully.
Within 36 hours, all worms have withered and dropped away from the affected fish.
Within 48 hours, I could find no remaining fish with Camallanus Worms protuding.
I followed up with a good gravel vac and a large water change.
I repeat this treatment in 2 weeks time, and then again in 2 weeks following if need be.
I have enough medication to do at least 7 more doses.
However, I dont think I will need it."
For full article and comments, go to http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/154/

Good luck! Glad you caught this worm early before any casualties!